Headlight attachment



H. F. HANSEN HEADLIGHT ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 6, 1923 5?: 44554555555 5 wifimawwwai 3.4mm Harr F Hansen Patented Nov.

HARRY F. HANSEN, OF WASHINGTON. DISFIBICT OF COLUMBIA.

HEADLIGHT ATTACHMENT.

Application filed. November 6. 1923. Serial No. 673,106.

To all whom it llu j/ concern.

Beit known that I, HARRY F. Haxsnx, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Washingtorn in the District of Columbia, 5 have invented new and useful Improvements in Headlight l tttachinents. of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to attachments for headlights; and its main object, stated briefly, is the provision of an improved device which may be readily fitted in a headlight'of either the oonoidal or the drum type now in general use, to block or mask the upwardly-refiec-tedrays emitted by the source of light, leaving only those rays which are projected, forwardin a horizontal or downward direction, whereby a non-glare headlight is thus obtained without resort to the use of a specially constructed reflector or other adjuncts.

it further object-of the invention is to provide an attachment of the character indicated which. in itself, is not only extremely simple and ii'iexpen'siie to manufacture, but

1TH which may llt made and sold in stock sizes,

so that it can be installed in any of the standard types of headlights now on the market. whether as a part of the factory cquipmcnt of a car, or as an accessory for new or secoml-hand cars.

'l. he invention also contemplates the formation of the attachment in two separate meinl'iers which are of a counterpart conslruction, excepting as to the arrangement ot' the reflecting and non-reflecting surfaces thereof, so that in the event of injury to GltllQPlllElHbQB, that member may be removed from the casing and replaced by another onewithout requiring a complete new at; tachment to be purchased; tl ie cpnnterpart feature-referred to enabling members to b wes ree esl w th s n le titties;

e e- 1. t iseeaefi ne ro ew? i t eelieie t stern r g di lev r v e m i.

El. t e 'h edti t d mer n em e44: i t lieefie nd-ir' e l e'la eteeeel etrl erse hiten-the ae lt ep tbh ih n et? cgnnterpagt size of light projects. Each of these lHQ-llllMIS has the form of adihedral angle, the two wings of which are perpendicular to each other. one wing being arranged \'erticall and at the front of the casing, while the other wing. is. disposed horizontally and projects rearwardly from the inner edge of the first wing. The vertical wings of both members have their front surfaces blackened so as to mash the corresponding portions of 2 the headlight and thus lini it its bright por tion to the light-containing chamber jiist mentioned, and the upper' 'r outer surface of the horizontal wingoffthe lower member is also blagelgened toabsorb the lightrays which strike againstit; but the outer surface of the horizontal wing of the upper menlilier, on the contrary, is highly polished so t rat. it will thus constitute a'refiector for coaction with the exposed portion of the wall T of the reflector proper.

Due to this construction and arrangement of parts, it will be obvious that a segmentshaped portion of the headlight, both at the top and at the bottom thereof, will be mash- 7:" ed: and; that between these two masked pottions there will be" left an intermediate portion or chamber haifi-ng the appearance of a ltorizontallyirlisppsed, elongated rectangle ofcomparatively. small height. The vertical wall of thischamber is constituted by the exposed portion of the reflector wall and has, in consequence, a reflecting action on the light rays, and its horizontal top wall likeii iscexert s an action of the same nature; but the horizontal bottom wall, on the contrary is incapable of el te ting, any reflecting action, ,o' i ingfto' itsharing been blackened, the result being thattlie' light beam proje'cted" from the headlight will travel in a, suhstantially horizontal direction only, all were; is r te erect inginter'eepte and ab rbed the" blacl;- H 1 horizontal Si -all surface i d. in b ei gre ie e trated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a conventional drum headlight equipped with the attachments;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper attachment Fig. 4 is a rear view thereof;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower attachment.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the casing of the lamp; 2, its hinged front member or door, which carries the glass plate, panel or lens 3; 4, the reflector and 5 the electric light bulb or other source of li ht. The casing 1 is here shown as of the rum type now in general use, though it may be of conoidal sha e, if preferred, or of any other suitable orm; and the reflector 4 is likewise of conventional parabolic type, with the bulb or lamp 5 mounted at the center thereof as usual, said reflector being provided at its marginal edge with a lateral flange 4'. The glass panel 3 may also be of any preferred type. As will be understood from the foregoing, the essential feature of my invention is the provision of an accessory or attachment for a drum or other conventional type of headlight which is constructed as a separate and distinct entity from the headlight and may be installed therein and removed therefrom at will, as circumstances require. This attachment consists of two counterpart light obstructing members 6 and 7, constructed of sheet metal and comprising, each, a vertical wing (i or 7 and a rearwardly-extending, horizontal wing 6 or 7 as illustrated in Figs. 3 and The two wings of each memher are disposed perpendicularly to each other so as to form a' right dihedral angle; the horizontal wings being located at the bottom of the upper member and at the top of the lower member and being of parabolic shape so as to enable them to fit conformably within a standard reflector. The vertical wings are made approximately segmental or semi-circular for the same reason, and their curved marginal edges are provided with felt strips 8 which are secured to the front faces thereof to contact with the glass plate 3 for the purpose of preventing rattling.

lVhere the sheet metal used is sufliciently stiff and heavy to enable the light obstructmg members to maintain their dihedral form, they may be mounted directly in the casing without the addition of any further parts, and secured in place by screws or. other removable 'fastenings which are inserted through registering holes in the aforesaid flange and edges.- But where thinner metal is'used', it is advisable to provide each member with one or more metal bracing straps 9 (Fig. 4) which are fastened at opposite ends to the wings and thus prevent their deformation.

As previously stated, the two members 6 and 7 are fitted in the upper and lower portions of the reflector, with their horizontal wings 6 and 7 opposite each other and in spaced, parallel relation, thereby leaving between them an intermediate horizontal chamber which extends diametrically of the reflector, so as to permit the lamp 5 to project thereinto; the back and sides of the chamber being formed by the exposed portion of the reflector wall which, as will be understood, is polished or otherwise treated to produce a reflecting action. The purpose of this chamber is to localize or condense the light rays and to intercept and absorb all those which would ordinarily be reflected upward. Accordingly, the upper or outer surface of the horizontal wing 7 of the lower member 7 is blackened or treated in some similar way to render it light-absorbent, whereas the lower or outer surface of the horizontal wing 6 of the upper member is silvered or polished. The vertical wings 6' and 7 are disposed in the front of the reflector, parallel with and in close proximity to the glass panel 3, and their outer faces are likewise blackened.

By reason of the counterpart construction of the two members, it will be apparent that they can be stamped or cut from the sheet metal blanks by means of a single set of dies, instead of necessitating two sets as would be the case if the members were of different shapes; the steps of silvering or polishing and painting being carried out subsequently. Hence the members can be manufactured and sold in bulk to fit the standard sizes and types of headlights commonly used, so that the production cost is thereby reduced practically to a minimum. Furthermore either member may be detached at any time. when necessary for one reason or another. merely by removing the fastening screws,

and, if damaged, can be readily replaced by' a new member at little expense.

I claim as my invention:

1. An attachment for vehicle headlights, comprising a pair of structurally-separate light-obstructing members, each in the form of a dihedral angle embodying a vertical wing and a horizontal wing and adapted to be removably positioned in the upper and lower portions of the reflector of a headlight in inverted relation, with their horizontal wings parallel and spaced apart to provide between them a reflecting and light absorbmg outer surfaces,

respectively, substantially a ClQSQIibed.

diametral chamber into which the secure of light projects andi the' 2. An attachment according to claim 1, in which the two light-obstructing members are of counterpart size and shape, the vertical wing of each member being approximately segmental and the horizontal wing parabolic so as to fit conformably in the reflector, substantially as described.

3. An article of manufacture for use in vehicle headlights to avoid blinding, comprising a flat, plate-like wing of approxi- 10 mately segmental shape and a second flat, plate-like Wing having the shape of a parab- 01a, said wings being connected together to conjointly form a dihedral angle, and

bracing means connecting the backs of said 15 Wings, substantially as described.

HARRY F. HANSEN. 

